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. 2020 Sep 21;10(57):34806-34814.
doi: 10.1039/d0ra02874f. eCollection 2020 Sep 16.

Novel TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite: a magnetic, reusable and visible-light-driven photocatalyst for efficient photocatalytic removal of chlorinated pesticides from wastewater

A M Ismael  1 , A N El-Shazly  2 , S E Gaber  1 , M M Rashad  2 , A H Kamel  3 , S S M Hassan  3
Affiliations

Novel TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite: a magnetic, reusable and visible-light-driven photocatalyst for efficient photocatalytic removal of chlorinated pesticides from wastewater

A M Ismael et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

A TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 heterostructure photocatalyst is fabricated by a simple and low-cost ball-milling pathway for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation of chlorinated pesticides under UV light irradiation. Based on the advantages of graphene oxide, TiO2, and CuFe2O4, the nanocomposite exhibited visible light absorption, magnetic properties, and adsorption capacity. Integrated analyses using XRD, SEM, TEM, and UV-visible techniques demonstrated that the nanocomposite exhibited a well-defined crystalline phase, sizes of 10-15 nm, and evincing a visible light absorption feature with an optical bandgap energy of 2.4 eV. The photocatalytic degradations of 17 different chlorinated pesticides (persistent organic pollutants) were assayed using the prepared photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite generated almost 96.5% photocatalytic removal efficiency of typical pesticide DDE from water under UV irradiation. The superior photocatalytic performance was exhibited by the TiO2/GO/CuFeO4 catalyst owing to its high adsorption performance and separation efficiency of photo-generated carriers. The photocatalyst was examined in 5 cycles for treating uncolored pesticides with purposeful separation using an external magnetic field.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. (a) X-ray diffraction pattern and (b) EDX analysis of the as-synthesized TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. (a) SEM and (b–d) TEM images of the as-synthesized TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. (a) Diffuse reflectance spectrum and (b) Tauc plot of the TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. (a–o) Peak elution change of selected pesticides vs. retention times using the TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. (a) Removal efficiency of selected pesticides as a function of irradiation time, (b) ln(C/C0) vs. time (min) curve for photodegradation of selected pesticides and (c) photodegradation rate in the presence of the TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. (a) Photograph of the magnetic nanocomposite solution, (b) the recyclability of DDE-type pesticide by the TiO2/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. Proposed mechanism of charge separation via a direct Z-type scheme under UV illumination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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